For the last thirty or forty years, kitchens have been built and remodeled to include ample counter space for providing a work surface and for enabling the addition of cabinets and appliances below such counter. For instance, dishwashers, and even refrigerators have been designed to fit below a kitchen counter. Also, a cabinet with doors, below the kitchen counter, is typically the place where a trash receptacle is located; and with the advent recently of compactors they also have been placed below kitchen counters.
There are, however, many households which either choose not to expend money on, or cannot afford, compactors, and therefore, it is particularly useful to provide more automated, and yet concealed trash receptacles, still mounted below the kitchen counter.